


Away

by TheGabbing



Series: My Miraculous Fanfiction [3]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-10
Updated: 2016-07-26
Packaged: 2018-05-25 20:44:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6209410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGabbing/pseuds/TheGabbing
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In one single moment, Marinette's entire world came crashing down. She didn't realize how much she had needed Chat Noir until he was taken away from her.<br/>But she won't rest until she gets him back.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly... no clue... but hey, I'll probably do a second part if you guys encourage me so ;)

Throwing up her lucky charm, Marinette shouted out and the magic from her miraculous starting flying, fixing everything Rose’s akuma had broken. Chat grinned next to her,wide and cocksure like always. She couldn’t help but smile back; his smile was so infectious. Marinette started to wrap her yo-yo back around her waist as Chat stretched his arms over his head beside her.

“Well, that was easier than usual.” Chat observed aloud. “Not that I’m complaining.”

She rolled her eyes next to him and sighed. “We still have to patrol tonight, so no skipping.” Like she expected, Chat whined and groaned at her playfully, complaining about how unfair it was. Just as Marinette finished putting her yo-yo on her waist, she saw something flash in the corner of her eye.

“Ladybug, watch out!” Chat shouted. His body shoved into hers, throwing her to the ground. Marinette twisted just in time to see Hawkmoth grab Chat, a smirk on his face, and fly off.

“Chat!” Marinette screamed, struggling with her yo-yo to go after them. No sooner had she gotten her yo-yo than they disappeared into the city, whispers of Chat’s worried yells on the air.

At first, she didn’t really understand what happened. It felt like everything happened so quickly that she didn’t even know if it was real. Her hand reached out to where Chat was standing beside her just a few moments ago and it finally caught up with her.

Hawkmoth had Chat Noir.

Marinette felt her chest heave as a sob jumped from her both. Her legs shook underneath her before collapsing. Another sob crawled its way from her throat and she slapped her hand over her mouth, failing to keep herself together. He was right beside her and the next thing she knew, Adrien was captured and being taken away. Her mind was racing, attempting to come up with an idea to rescue him but all she could feel was a monstrous worry. She couldn't do anything without Chat. He was the one that supported her, that pushed her to be the superhero she had to be.

“Ladybug…” Marinette heard Alya beside her. Alya’s hand gently laid on her back and Marinette had to restrain an even bigger sob. Not only had she failed Chat but she had failed Alya too. There was no way she could continue being Ladybug without him. “Ladybug, you’re miraculous, you have to get out of the public.” Alya reminded her.

Sure enough, she heard the warning sound in her ears that told her she only had a few moments before she would turn back to normal. “I… I can’t… Alya, I can’t.” Marinette whimpered. What was the point in hiding her identity when she failed?

Alya’s arm reached under hers and she picked her up. “Come on, Ladybug, I’m not letting you go yet.” Marinette cried harder, letting Alya take her into one of the darker alleys on the street. Her thumb rubbed against Marinette’s shoulder, trying to coax her through her tears.

Just as Alya opened up the back door to an abandoned wearhouse, Marinette’s miraculous faded away, Tikki popping out. “I failed… I let him take Chat.” Marinette whispered, still taken by the shock. She didn’t have the energy to care that Alya just saw that she was Ladybug. Why had she not seen it coming? The Akuma had no desire to grab their Miraculous, she should have known something was wrong.

Tikki quickly pressed herself against Marinette’s cheek. “Oh, Marinette.”

“Chat’s gone and his miraculous is probably already in Hawkmoth’s grasp because I didn’t pay attention, because I was distracted.” Marinette whimpered again. Her hand clenched at her side and she could feel her nails digging into her palm but she didn’t care. She deserved it. Chat was probably never going to see his family or friends again because of her. Her knees buckled underneath her and she fell to the ground, her voice lost in the sobs jumping from her mouth. Alya’s hand wrapped around her shoulders in comfort and she ducked her head against her best friends, dissolving into tears and whimpers. Chat was gone and it was all her fault.


	2. Captured

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> holy shit i actually did a second part. there will be more, so subscribe lovelies.

Adrien woke up with an ache in his arm and on a cold hard floor. His brain, still shaking off the last of the unconscious, took a while to realize the position he was in; Arm stretched above his head, chained to the wall, and another chain attached to one of his ankles. He was trapped.

            Almost a knee-jerk reaction, he looked to his side, hoping Ladybug would be able to help him, but she wasn’t there. Of course she wasn’t. He pushed her out of the way before Hawkmoth could grab her. He let out a frustrated yell before slamming his free fist against the wall.

            “Well, well, what a pitiful sight.” A voice growled from the opposite corner of the room. Adrien looked to see Hawkmoth standing proud. His lips were curled into a disgustingly obnoxious smirk, obviously proud with himself about the entire capture. It only took him a year and a half.

            Adrien’s nose curled up in annoyance and he yanked his wrist, trying to see the strength of the chain that held it there. No such luck. The chain held steady and it only pulled painfully against him. His mind went to Ladybug. She would save him. She always knew what to do. “She’s going to save me you know. Ladybug is never going to give up.” Adrien snapped back to Hawkmoth.

            Hawkmoth snorted and walked over to Adrien. “Ladybug won’t be coming to save you this time.” He laughed to himself and his hand lifted up Adrien’s. Adrien tried to jerk it away when he realized it was the same hand his Miraculous was on but Hawkmoth’s grips tightened around it. “I could wait for your Miraculous to run out, but I won’t chance something happening for it to be taken away from me.”

            Hawkmoth’s fingers slipped the ring off Adrien’s finger. All Adrien could do is weakly whimper out a protest. He was useless. Without Ladybug at his side, he’s just a guy in a cat suit. He closed his eyes and attempted to compose himself before looking up into Hawkmoth’s eyes in aggressive defiance. He might not have his Miraculous any more but he would still stay strong for Ladybug.

            “You should have never gotten involve with this, Adrien.” Hawkmoth said, in a condescending tone. Just as Adrien was about to snip back an insult, Hawkmoth’s Miraculous transformation faded away to reveal his father.

            Adrien’s mouth gapped open and close as he fought to understand how his father was Hawkmoth. “F-father?” He shook his head, as if it was just some demented dream that would go away but still, his father stood there. “Y-you’re Hawkmoth? Why are you doing this?” Adrien asked, just begging that maybe, just maybe, he was akumatized to look like Hawkmoth to draw in Ladybug.

            “Oh, trust me, Adrien. In due time, all will be explained. Once Ladybug is lured here by you –”

            Struggling against his chains once more, feeling them rough against his skin, Adrien yelled, “I’ll never let you hurt her!

            Hawkmoth – or his father – sighed as if Adrien was only throwing a temper tantrum. “I’m doing this for us, Adrien, you need to understand that.”

            “I don’t want anything to do with you!” Adrien yelled at his father.

            “Not even if this brings back your mother?” His father asks.

            It felt as if Adrien’s heart had jumped into his throat. His mother. The rage he felt in his blood all but melted away, replaced by horrified wonder and timid hope. “You… can do that?”

            His father knelt down in front of his son and rested his hand on his shoulder. “Yes. But only if you do as I say.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A special thanks to xmellyspade on tumblr for the inspiration.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, shit, this is turning out to be a lot longer than I ever thought it would so wtf, I'll probably only have one or two more chapters, though... probably.

Marinette cried for a long time. While she didn’t know exactly, she had to assume it had at least been ten minutes. When she felt well enough to stumble to her feet, Alya was there to support her. Her best friend continually rubbed her back as she helped her out of the warehouse. Still holding back some tears, Marinette and Alya walked down the sidewalk towards Marinette’s house.

Some citizens seemed to mimic her distraught, walking around and mumbling, trying to figure out if what had happened was actually real. The others who had come to the realization were sobbing with their friends, unsure what would happen to their favorite superheroes.

To be honest, Marinette didn’t know either.

“Why aren’t you mad at me?” Marinette whispered to her best friend. Marinette had kept the secret from her for so long, it was a wonder why Alya was even helping her. Alya should be furious with her. Nobody should keep something this big from someone they call their best friend.

Alya squeezed her hip, “I had my suspicions. That doesn’t matter, though, sweetie. We need to get you back to your room so you can rest.

“But Chat Noir-” Marinette started. Alya quickly shut her off with a hush.

“Chat Noir can wait. You can’t do anything to help him if you can barely stand up, Marinette.” Alya insisted. Marinette sighed and leaned more of her weight into Alya as they walked together.

 

* * *

 

 

When Marinette woke up, she could hear Alya pacing and talking on the roof. She couldn’t hear her exact words so Marinette pushed herself out of her bed and pulled down the stairs to get to the rough. Alya turned towards her when she heard Marinette poked her head through the trap door. A kind smile filled Alya’s face as she put her phone back to her ear. “She just woke up… yeah… just come on up.”

Marinette hauled herself completely on the roof, walking over to Alya to wrap her arms around her. Alya reciprocated the hug without any hesitation and squeezed her tight. She hummed comfortably and let herself relax in her best friend’s grip. “Who was that?” She asked.

Alya let go of Marinette and pulled away so she could brush some of Marinette’s sweat soaked hair out of her face. “Nino. He knows who Chat is, told me that he did a while ago. I asked him to come over here so he could tell us Chat’s civilian identity.”

Feeling her knees go a little weaker, she walked over to one of the chairs and allowed herself to fall down into it. Chat’s civilian identity. It was an entire other thing she would have to deal with. Before she could even think about saving Chat, she would have to know whether he had family or friends that needed to be notified.

Notified.

It sounded like Chat was dead and she had to tell his family.

Slapping her hand over her mouth to muffle a sob, she attempted to compose herself. She had to stop it. She couldn’t allow herself to be so distracted by what she was feeling. There couldn’t be any distraction when she was rescuing Chat. Swallowing down her anxiety, Marinette brushed down her shirt. She would save him, no matter what she had to give up to do so.

Alya sat down across from her and squeezed Marinette’s leg. “Don’t worry. We’ll come up with a plan.”

Marinette nodded and took in a deep breath. One thing at a time. “Did you tell Nino who I was?”

Biting her lip, Alya sighed and nodded. “Yeah. I’m sorry. I figured we needed all the help we could get.”

“No, no, you’re right. I would have just told Nino anyways. There’s no point keeping my identity secret when he knows Chat’s.” Marinette said. Alya leaned back into her chair and stared up at the sky. Marinette found herself wondering what would happen between her and Alya. Despite Alya saying she had her suspicions, Marinette didn’t quite believe her. Alya had never once hinted at the fact that she knew or asked questions that would have meant that she knew. And now that she did know, what would happen? Alya had the Ladyblog to run, after all; she had a duty to her readers.

Obviously sensing Marinette’s internal crisis, Alya mumbled, “I’m not going to tell anyone.”

“But… The blog, Alya. You can’t just –” Alya’s hand covered Marinette’s mouth before she could finish her sentence. Her best friend was staring down at her with a very annoyed look on her face.

“Marinette. Listen to me right here and now. I am never, _ever_ , going to tell anyone about your identity. Now I’m gonna let go and you are going to stop freaking out and let me explain.” She slowly took off her hand from Marinette’s mouth and when Marinette opened her mouth to protest, Alya raised her eyebrows and her hand back up. She shut her mouth and waited for Alya to explain. “I was never going to reveal Ladybug’s identity. At least not after the entire Pharaoh thing. It would endanger you. I just wanted to find out who Ladybug was so I could help her, divert any evidence that might lead to her. You aren’t the only one that can keep people safe, Marinette.”

She stared at Alya for a second before launching herself into her best friend’s arms. Gladly pulling her in close, Alya kissed the top of her head and rested her cheek on her. “I don’t tell you how much I love you enough,” Marinette whispered to Alya.

Alya shrugged in Marinette’s grasp, “That’s okay. I know.”

Marinette held onto Alya tightly, breathing in the comfort from her friend. To be honest, if Alya wasn’t there when Chat had been kidnapped, she didn’t think that she would have been able to handle anything. Because of Alya, Marinette was able to keep her identity a secret and get enough time to gather herself. Thinking about it now, she wondered why she didn’t tell Alya sooner.

Someone cleared their throat behind Marinette and Alya let her go. “Nino.” Alya said, walking over to Nino to give him a quick hug.

Marinette felt her heart drop when she saw his face. It looked like he had been crying. Despite his glasses obstructing some of the view of his face, Marinette could clearly see his eyes were bloodshot and puffy. His clothes were obviously rumpled, probably from his trip to her house. She knew Nino lived in the opposite direction. If he arrived to her house this fast, he must have sped down on his bike.

When Alya released Nino, he instantly went to Marinette and pulled her in for a tight hug. She couldn’t help but whimpering a small apology.

She was on the edge of breaking down when Nino let go and squeezed her shoulders. “You have nothing to be sorry for, Marinette. All we can do now is save him.”

Walking up to them, Alya stood next to Marinette. Her hand slipped into Marinette’s and she asked, “First, we need to know who Chat is.”

Nino took a deep breath, rubbing his face out of stress. “He’s … um …” Nino sighed, “He’s Adrien.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I'm at Defectivegems on tumblr, I accept fic prompts on there.  
> Kudos, comment, subscribe and bookmark if you liked it!


	4. The Letter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well shit fuck, this is becoming so much longer than I wanted. And actual plot? What?  
> Ah, so confusing.

_Adrien_. Her body pumped with adrenaline as she flew through the streets of Paris. She was searching for a sign, for anything. She needed to find him before Hawkmoth did something to him. Knowing Chat… knowing Adrien, he would know she would be searching high and low for him… but he wouldn’t just sit around waiting to be rescued either. There would be no way that he wouldn’t try to leave her clues or a sign. _I’ll find you. I promise._

Marinette hadn’t slept properly since Chat – Adrien had been captured. She still couldn’t get a grip on the fact that Adrien was Chat. They seemed like two different people to her. Though, she couldn’t blame him, Ladybug was like an alter ego to her as well.

As Marinette landed onto the Eifel tower, she felt her miraculous buzz. Tikki had helped her figure out how to get her cellphone to forward to her miraculous so Alya and Nino could keep her updated. So that her parents wouldn’t get suspicious of her leaving all the time, Alya told them that they had a group project together and it would be easier if Marinette just stayed over. She couldn’t thank her friend enough for covering her. It was a good thing that she was there when everything happened.

Marinette grabbed her yoyo and flipped it open to answer the call. Alya’s face appeared on the monitor. “You haven’t been back all day, Marinette.”

“Of course I haven’t, I’m the only one searching for him.” Marinette snipped back. She knew right after the words left her mouth that she shouldn’t have been so rude. Alya and Nino were working around the clock to help her find Adrien and it wasn’t their fault that they hadn’t yet. Marinette couldn’t help but get frustrated. To her, it felt as if no one cared Adrien had gone missing, as if no one cared Chat Noir was gone. She knew it had only been three days, but it had been three days too long.

Everyone at school thought Adrien was abroad on a modeling contract because Chloe told them he was. Even though she said that to the teacher when she asked, Marinette couldn’t help but notice a small quiver in her lip and her hands shaking at her sides. She obviously knew he wasn’t out of the country modeling, but Marinette knew that she couldn’t ask her as Marinette. That was why she was planning to visit Chloe and interrogate her about what she knew.

Though Nino said that he didn’t think Chloe knew, there had to be more going on.

“You need your rest,” Alya said. The sound of a door shutting came from her end of the call and Marinette could see Nino walk into Alya’s room as Alya turned to check out who it was. Alya visibly sighed and turned back to face Marinette through the screen. “Please don’t stay out too late, Marinette.”

Marinette nodded and ended the call, making no promise. If she couldn’t sleep properly because she was worried about Adrien, there was no point in sleeping at all.

Throwing her yoyo to catch on another building, Marinette swung towards the hotel, praying that Chloe would be there and alone. She didn’t have the time to wander around waiting for Chloe to be alone to ask her what was going on. Answers were needed now and one second wasted could cause everything to go wrong. The longer Hawkmoth went without demands, the more terrified she became. It made no sense that Hawkmoth hadn’t demanded her miraculous for a trade. Her mind couldn’t help turning to dangerous thoughts.

Marinette landed roughly on the top of the hotel. Her balance wavered and she threw herself forward into a roll so she wouldn’t hurt herself by falling off the building. As she hit the roof of the hotel, slamming into some chairs, she groaned from pain. Her coordination had gotten worse, and for the past three days she had been purple and blue from the bruises she got from rough landings or falls. Of course, she knew it was because she didn’t have enough sleep but it wasn’t like she could rest anyways.

Rubbing the back of her head, she prepared herself to stand up when she heard someone clear their throat. Marinette looked up to see Chloe standing a few feet away and she couldn’t help but let out a small gasp.

Chloe looked like an absolute mess. Sure, if someone didn’t know Chloe they would think that she looked fine but Marinette had been in the same class as her since kindergarten. She had known when Chloe’s mother left by a wrinkle in her jacket and a black hair tie instead of white. Now, Chloe stood in front of her with her hair let down, the wrong colored shoes for her outfit, and a rumpled shirt that looked a few days old.

Quickly getting up and walking over, she placed her hand on Chloe’s shoulder, as if to comfort her somehow. “Ch- You’re Chloe, right?” Marinette said, attempting to maintain her image as Ladybug.

She let out a shaky breath and took one step back. Her hand lifted up a letter to Marinette and with a shaky voice, Chloe said, “They said to give this to you.” Marinette stared at the letter. She couldn’t help but feel the breath catch in her throat and her heart start beating faster.

Contact. Hawkmoth had finally contacted her. Through Chloe, nevertheless. That meant that Hawkmoth knew who she was. Chloe stuck out the letter farther towards her and Marinette took it in her hand.

She opened her mouth, trying to say something but Chloe quickly shut her up with a quick shake of her head. “I can’t. I… They have Sabrina.” Her guilt jumped into her throat, forcing her to stay silent as she watched Chloe quickly wipe away some tears from her face. Chloe took in a deep breath and nodded. “But it’s okay. You’ll save her. You’ll save both of them.”

She could feel her own eyes fill with tears as she looked at Chloe. Chloe who never showed any sign of weakness. Chloe who was practically torn apart by having her two best friends taken away from her in one single moment. Chloe who had so much confidence in Ladybug, in her, to save them both.

Marinette swallowed down a lump in her throat and nodded. With the letter clutched in her hand, she threw here yoyo to another roof top, swinging back to Alya’s house. She chose to ignore when she thought she heard Chloe whisper, “Thank you, Marinette.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Does Chloe know Adrien is Chat? Does she just miss Sabrina or is she gay af? YOU DECIDE.   
> ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh plot twist that i didnt even know about whaaaaaat?
> 
> Comment, subscribe, kudos, and bookmark if you love it! <3 Also, I have another fanfiction called Ruined With You. So like.... check it.


	5. Chapter 5

_Ladybug,_

_Sabrina will be returned an hour after you receive this letter._

_Come alone to the address below or your precious Adrien will never be seen again._

_Don’t think you can come up with some petty plan with your two friends. We wouldn’t want them to get caught in the cross fire._

_Hawkmoth_

 

The second Alya put down the letter, Marinette could see her lip tremble before she sucked in a deep breath and composed herself. Nino was sitting on Alya’s bed, clutching his head and mumbling things under his breath. Marinette didn’t know what to do with herself while she waited for her friends to read the letter so she just stood in the middle of the room with Tikki on her shoulder.

Alya stood up from her desk chair and pulled Marinette into her arms. “We’ll figure something out.”

Marinette shook her head and pulled away from Alya, “No. Alya, I have to do this alone.”

“And give up your miraculous?” Nino yelled from the bed. He looked at the two of them like he was horrified at the possibility. “Marinette, you can’t.”

Sighing to herself, Marinette tried to think of a way to argue why she had to. Alya crossed her arms across from her and she tried to ignore her disappointment. She couldn’t let them get involved; too many people had been put in danger already. Adrien was gone, Hawkmoth took Sabrina, who knows what he would do to Alya and Nino if they got in his way. “Nino, I can’t just let him keep Adrien.”

Groaning from annoyance, Nino pushed himself off the bed and walked over to Marinette to grab her shoulders. He said, “He wouldn’t want you to sacrifice your miraculous for him, Marinette. He would want you safe!” Marinette opened her mouth to argue again but Nino just shook his head, “No, Marinette. He loves you and he would want me to keep you from doing something stupid like this.”

“He loves Ladybug, Nino,” Marinette said quietly, slightly hurt. He never even paid attention to her when she was Marinette.

“Wrong. He loves you too. Ladybug, Marinette, it never mattered to him. Adrien loves you both and if you just go off and give up your miraculous, he’ll be furious.”

Marinette bit down on her lip to stop herself from sobbing. She knew he was right, of course he was. Adrien – Chat Noir – he wouldn’t want Ladybug or Marinette to sacrifice her powers. He’d force her to rethink the situation and find a solution that didn’t put anybody in danger. If she even suggested giving up her miraculous or putting herself in a dangerous situation, he would argue against it without a second thought.

“Don’t worry, Marinette. We can figure it out together. That’s what friends are for, right?” Alya said beside her.

She looked to her left to her best friend and back to Nino, feeling the complete love they had for her. Sniffling back some tears, Marinette nodded and wrapped her arms around her friends. “Thank you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick little in between part before reaching the end of the story. I promise there will only be one or two chapters left now. Probably one and then an epilogue. 
> 
> Check out my other miraculous fanfiction, Why Aren't We Dating and Ruined With You.
> 
> As always, I'm defectivegems on tumblr and accept prompts. Kudos, subscribe, bookmark, and comment to show some love <3


	6. Chapter 6

Marinette swung feet first into the open window. With a practiced movement of her body, she had rolled herself to lessen the impact and to get fully on her feet in one movement. In her ear, she could hear Nino and Alya chatter, reminding her about the plan, telling her not to do anything drastic. She hummed quietly, letting them know that she heard them as she scoped out the warehouse she landed into.

On the outskirts of Paris, they had decided asking the police to go patrol around the warehouse would be too dangerous. Instead, Alya and Nino and Marinette – well, Ladybug, had told the police to have a squad of people set up in another abandoned warehouse a few streets down. It wouldn’t take them more than a few minutes to get to the warehouse if Marinette sent the signal.

Completely abandoned, there were only a couple crates and cobwebs filling the space. Marinette crept around the corners, her eyes looking for any kind of disturbance in the area. Hawkmoth had told her to go to the address but she couldn’t see anything. He couldn’t have known about the plan Alya and Nino helped her come up with. There was no way.

A groaning from a room to her left alerted her. She froze for just a minute, unsure what to do, before she breathed in and centered herself. Clutching her yo-yo, Marinette walked into the room, eyes squinting in the darkness to see who was there. Her feet moved softly, only a small sound of shuffling filling the room as her toes tossed some dust up.

“My Lady?” Marinette heard somebody whisper from the other side of the room.

“Chat?” She said. Her heart beating quickly, Marinette ran to the voice and dropped to her knees as she saw Adrien tied against a beam. “Oh, Adrien,” she whimpered, feeling a new wave of guilt was over her.

Adrien looked at her up at her with a pained expression. She could see a bruise on his cheek and the ring that held his miraculous, according to Nino, was gone. His eyes blinked in the darkness, squinting to see just as much as she was, “I… I’m sorry. You didn’t want to know my identity.”

“That doesn’t matter.” Marinette whispered. She dropped her yo-yo and started fiddling with the knot in the rope. They didn’t have much time until Hawkmoth noticed that she found Adrien before he found her. Alya and Nino were yelling something to the police from where they were, probably telling them to prepare to go in as soon as she had Adrien in her grasp. They had agreed beforehand that Marinette wasn’t to talk in case she alerted Hawkmoth into people listening in.

Finally getting the rope untied, Marinette grabbed Adrien by the hip and draped his arm over her shoulder. “Come on, let’s get you out,” she mumbled as she pushed herself from the ground with Adrien. He lent most of his weight on her, obviously weak since he was last captured and Marinettes gut twisted with guilt. If she had been paying attention, he wouldn’t have been captured in the first place. Shaking off the guilt, Marinette decided to focus on getting out of the warehouse. Hawkmoth probably knew by now that Marinette had arrived by the warehouse and if didn’t know already, he would know soon that she had Adrien.

Moving as fast as she could while supporting Adrien’s weight was difficult but she pushed herself. She could do it, and she had to do it. Saving Adrien was her priority right now, if Hawkmoth got away, that would be fine. Once Adrien was healthy again, they would both hunt him down until they had him.

Adrien coughed and walked with her while trying to put more of his weight on himself. Every time he attempted to do so, Adrien would stumble over his own feet and cause Marinette to need to stabilize him. She ended up just gripping onto his hip and keeping most of his weight on her.

The window she came from was just in her sights as Adrien stumbled again, causing them both to fall to the floor. Marinette bit back a grown of pain as he landed on her arm awkwardly. Pushing herself up as fast as she could, Marinette reached out for Adrien

“That is not what we agreed to, Ladybug,” A voice behind her growled. Marinette froze with her hand gripped onto Adrien’s arm. Hawkmoth. Of course. Letting go of Adrien to turn around and face him, Marinette put on a brave face. She used her body to block Hawkmoth from any access to Adrien. If anything happened, she’d rather him take her than Adrien again. She wasn’t sure how much more he could handle.

Adrien’s hand grabbed at her leg, probably in an attempt to stop her from facing Hawkmoth, or tell her to leave, but Marinette ignored him. With her hand posed on her yo-yo, Marinette’s entire body tensed. “You aren’t as smart as I thought if you think I’m just going to give up my miraculous without a fight.”

Hawkmoth sighed, a smirk on the corner of his lips. He seemed to be amused by the situation instead of annoyed like she assumed him to be. She looked around and tried to see if there was any sort of trap in the warehouse that she hadn’t noticed. Why wasn’t he worried about her getting away? “You misunderstand me, Marinette,” Hawkmoth laughed. A shiver ran down her spine as Hawkmoth used her real name. How had he known who she was? Had he always known? He took a step towards her and Marinette grabbed her yo-yo in her hand, spinning it on her side. “This wasn’t my plan. He only wanted to give you a choice. The easy way or the hard way.”

Marinette’s eyes squinted in confusion. _He_? Who was Hawkmoth talking about? Just as Marinette was about to throw her yo-yo at Hawkmoth, she felt a hand brush her ear and a mumbled, “I’m sorry.”

To slow to react, Marinette felt her miraculous be torn of her ears and the voice of Tikki disappeared from her head. Marinette screamed, and stumbled over to the nearby wall. Adrien stood right where he was before Hawkmoth had come along, one of his hands clutched tightly. He no longer looked exhausted or hurt, only guilty… and remorseful. Marinette’s lips trembled as she opened her mouth and stuttered out, “I… Adrien, I don’t… What are you doing?”

His jaw clenched tightly. “I have to, My… Marinette.”

“Adrien? No! We can win this, just give me back my miraculous!” Marinette argued. She forced her feeling of betrayal away from her. Adrien was probably only doing it to protect her. Whether he was Chat Noir or Adrien, he never thought clearly when someone else was in danger.

He shook his head, his eyes closing as if he was accepting what he was about to do. “No,” Adrien said as he looked back at Marinette, “he’s my father. He is doing this to help us.”

“Help you?” Marinette yelled, “When has he ever helped you!” Over the communications device in her ear, she could hear Nino and Alya yelling with the police captain, arguing whether or not they needed to go in and subdue both Adrien and Hawkmoth. They couldn’t send anybody in, Marinette knew she had to talk them both down or she would lose both Chat Noir and the Ladybug miraculous’.

“You don’t know anything,” Adrien growled, “He’s sacrificed everything.” Marinette could see his fingers dig into his palm, even drawing some blood. It didn’t even look like he felt the fact that he was hurting himself.

Hawkmoth- Gabriel Agreste – laughed and waved to his son. “Enough, Adrien. We should go. I have no doubt the police will be charging this warehouse any second.”

Adrien nodded at his father and took a step towards him. Marinette stepped of the wall she was leaning on and put herself in between Adrien and his father. She knew it was dangerous to have her back to Hawkmoth but she didn’t care. She refused to let Adrien go without telling her why.

“Why are you doing this?” Marinette asked. She could feel the tears in her eyes already falling from her face and she sniffled back a sob that threatened to crawl from her throat. She had to stay strong, at least for now.

For a moment, Adrien’s face filled with instant regret and she felt as if she had dragged him back from the decision he had made. It was only a second before his resolve came back and his jaw clenched. “Move out of the way, Marinette. You don’t have to get hurt.”

Marinette shook her head violently. One of her ponytails snapped against her neck, letting out some of her hair. “Please. I’ll never bother you guys again if you just tell me why,” she begged. Adrien’s eyes glanced over her shoulder quickly before returning to look at Marinette, probably to look for permission from his father.

“We can bring back my mother,” Adrien said, his voice wavering slightly.

Watching Adrien’s face, Marinette felt more tears well up in her eyes. He looked absolutely broken. Looking at her in complete vulnerability, it almost seemed as if he was begging for her to just step aside, to let him go off with his father and the miraculous and do whatever insane thing his father decided they needed to do. Marinette’s hands clenched at her side.

“You can’t.” Marinette said. She braced her body, her knees bending just slightly. She refused to lose Adrien again. Not for something so avoidable.

Adrien’s face contorted into anger and hurt, as if he couldn’t believe she would try to stop him from doing something so important to him. “I need her back. You don’t know anything about the pain I… that we have felt because of her disappearance. This will bring her back. This can bring her back.”

He took a step towards her, his fist clenched around her miraculous and she placed her hands on his shoulders and pushed. He didn’t move even an inch away but he stopped moving. Sucking back the tears that were threatening to overflow, Marinette pushed against his shoulders harder. “She wouldn’t want you to do this.”

“You didn’t know her,” Adrien yelled. “You don’t know anything!”

“You’re right!” Marinette yelled back, her voice breaking from the pain she felt for him. “I’ve never lost a parent, never lost someone I’ve loved. But I know that I don’t want to. If you do this, I will.” The tears from her eyes fell completely and she could feel some of her hair stick to her face. She could see as Adrien’s jaw relax only slightly and his eyes fill with sadness.

In that moment, she thought she had finally gotten through to him. But he shut himself off again and his hand grabbed her wrist and pushed it off of him. “I never want to see you again.”

Marinette sobbed as Adrien pushed her aside. He walked calmly up to Hawkmoth, his hand still clenched at his side with her miraculous. Hawkmoth smirked over Adrien at Marinette, amused with his victory and Marinette clasped her hand onto her mouth, restraining a sob. Her heart stopped as she saw Adrien’s left hand move from his side… not the hand that had her miraculous in it.

Unaware to what Adrien was doing, Hawkmoth seemed completely satisfied in his victory as Adrien’s hand got hold on the broach in the middle of Hawkmoth’s chest. Gabriel yelled in anger and shock as Adrien tore of the broach, immediately causing him to return to normal. Adrien quickly jumped away from his father and shoved the Ladybug miraculous and Hawkmoths into her grasp. She took it just as Adrien collapsed onto the ground, holding his head in what seemed like remorse. Hawkmoth, or Gabriel Agreste, was on the ground again, weakened from his miraculous being abruptly taken from him.

She heard a slam of a warehouse door and the sound of police rapidly moving throughout the building.

It was over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't unsubscribe yet! There shall be one more chapter, the epilogue, before this fic is completely finish. Be sure to check out Ruined With you, my other miraculous fic that is still on going. 
> 
> As always, I'm defectivegems on tumblr, I accept prompts. Kudos, comment, bookmark, and subscribe for more <3


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ........ three months..... okay.... yes i did not mean for the epilogue to take this long....

The nurse led her down the hallway and she felt sick to her stomach. When she walked up to the front desk she didn’t think they would allow her to see him. She only went because Nino told her Adrien was asking about her.

She hadn’t seen him since what happened with Hawk- his father. It had been an entire week before she was fit to go back to school. She would have been better faster if she went to the hospital like Adrien did but she couldn’t exactly explain that she got hurt because she was Ladybug.

Honestly, she was a little confused to why no one called bullshit on the cover up story she came up with. The police seemed to accept that Chat Noir and Adrien were held together and Chat Noir had run off to make sure Sabrina was released from the separate location she was being held in. Everyone seemed to accept that Gabriel Agreste used his son as more tempting bait along with Chat Noir.

“You know, when you came up to see him, I wasn’t going to let you go in,” the nurse explained as she walked. “We’ve had tons of his fans come in trying to see him. But when you told me your name, I knew I had to. He doesn’t shut about you. You’re on the approved list by his current guardian.”

At the word guardian, Marinette wanted to flinch. Because of what happened, Nathalie stepped up to be his guardian. She couldn’t help but feel a little guilty because of it. Not that there was any way it was her fault but her brain never was rational.

The nurse stopped at the door with two police officers sitting outside. They smiled down at Marinette, knowing her from her various encounters with them over the years. “I figured I would see you eventually,” said Roger. When she looked at him all she saw is what Adrien’s father did to him all those years ago.

Marinette gave a half smile and ducked her head as the door opened.

Adrien was sitting on the hospital bed, hooked up to an IV with liquids dripping down. When the hospital got a hold of him, they said that he was dehydrated. Along with multiple contusions on his body, he would be in the hospital for a while before he could go to school again. He was staring out the window, almost wistfully. His head didn’t move to look who was walking in but he did sit up straight.

“Hey Nino, did you bring that game we were talking about,” Adrien said and Marinette cleared her throat awkwardly. Adrien’s head flipped to the door and shock crossed his face.

She scratched the back of her neck and stepped into the room. Both of them ignored the nurse that went tittering over Adrien, checking his IV drip before walking out. “Uh… Nino said you wouldn’t mind if I went instead today. I can… I can leave if –”

“No!” Adrien said quickly. “No, please… stay.”

Marinette nodded and pressed her lips together. Unsure of what to do, she stayed at the closed door, swinging her weight from the balls of her feet to her heel. Before the incident, she wouldn’t have even gone near Adrien, but now that she knows he was Chat Noir all along, everything feels different. He likes her, or liked Ladybug. It’s awkward and everything is back to being unknown. Marinette can’t decide whether she should treat him like Adrien or Chat Noir, even though he is one and the same.

“I’m sorry,” Marinette spat out at the same time Adrien said it as well. Both of them smiled awkwardly at each other. Adrien gestured with his hand for her to come closer to him. Almost tip toeing like if she didn’t he would break, Marinette stopped close enough to the bed that Adrien could reach out and touch her if he wanted to.

“I didn’t mean…. I didn’t think. When I… When I was with my dad, I didn’t think. It’s not – Its not meant to be an excuse it’s just….”

“A reason,” she finished for him. He sighed, giving her a thankful smile. A little butterfly flew in her stomach. Even after everything they went through, they were still in sync. She couldn’t help but feel a little proud of the bond they shared.

Marinette wanted to reach over and grab his hand, squeeze it in a way to confirm he was there, confirm he was alright, but she kept still. “I’m sorry for not protecting you better.”

“That’s not your job,” Adrien argued but Marinette shook her head.

“It is. You’re my partner, Adrien,” Out of habit she looked over her shoulder to make sure no one was listening in on them. Not that anybody would care to listen in to two teenagers. “Suit or not.”

A pained but happy look crossed his face and Marinette smiled back at him in the same way. Her hand reached into her pocket to grab the ring. It has been burning a hole in her pocket the entire time she had it but she didn’t have the courage to see him before then. She held it out for him to grab and he took it immediately. The second he put it on his finger, Plagg flew out and slammed into Adrien’s face.

“Don’t ever do that again!” Plagg snipped angrily, “I do not want to lose my best friend.”

Adrien laughed at Plagg. He gave him a few pats before Plagg settled on his chest, curling up right where his heart is. They both looked down at the Kwami and smiled happily. Tikki was taking a nap in her small purse at her side so she would have to wake her before Marinette left otherwise she was positive Tikki would be upset with her.

He reached over and grabbed her hand. “For what it’s worth, I’m glad it was you.”

Marinette swallowed the knot in her throat and smiled, “I know. I’m glad it was you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So.... no excuses, but if you read Ruined With You, you would know that I got a summer internship that was really rough. It was a lot of work and after writing all day, i didn't feel like writing fics. But, hey, I finally am done, and I hope to get back on a regular schedule. So even though I am done this fanfiction, you should check out Ruined With You, my other miraculous fic, for updates. 
> 
> As always, im defectivegems on tumblr, I love you all and thanks for following this fic!

**Author's Note:**

> Please like, comment, bookmark, and subscribe if you like it!


End file.
